La Sposa by Sienna Mynx

her. She wished she knew the song. She would sing it with
him, because the feelings were mutual. Last night he comforted her,
and today she felt a renewed sense of love between them. He smiled
at her and winked. The man before her was the only one she knew and
adored. Let him be their Don. For her and Eve, he would be husband
and father. Mira touched her tummy protectively.
    “ Bravo!” she clapped.
    He bowed his head in humble acceptance of her
praise.
    “ What is all of this?” she
asked.
    “ It’s how I wanted you to begin
your day. Especially on the eve before you become mine,” he said,
setting the guitar aside.
    “ I’m already yours.” She leaned
over and kissed him, keeping her lips pressed so he wouldn’t be
exposed to her morning breath. But Giovanni was insistent for more.
He captured her lips for a deeper kiss that melted her beneath the
sheets. He chuckled when she bit his bottom lip and drew back,
sucking away the sting. “I thought you would sing outside my window
like Franco did for Catalina. Or is the Don unwilling to show the
family his talents.”
    Giovanni blushed, and lowered his eyes. “I
wanted it to be private, to have even more meaning.”
    “ It does. I loved it,” she
smiled.
    “ Are you hungry?” he
asked.
    “ Yes.”
    “ I prepared a breakfast for you.
Your favorite things.”
    “ You what?” she thought a
chuckle.
    He rose and went to the silver tray left on
the reading table in the room. Mira watched curiously as he
returned to the bed.
    “ I love the roses. I’m surprised
with the rainstorm you were able to gather so many.”
    He didn’t answer. He placed the tray over her
lap and lifted the lid over the dish he prepared. The plate had
pancakes stacked, a steamy portion of scrambled eggs, crisp bacon,
and golden brown sausage links. “You did this?”
    “ It’s your favorite, right?” he
grinned.
    Actually it wasn’t. But it was a traditional
American breakfast favorite. She looked up into his eyes and saw
how proud he was of the meal. “Yes, it’s my favorite. How did you
know?” she lied.
    He shrugged. “I knew it. I ate it a lot when I
was at Harvard.”
    Giovanni eased onto the bed with her and began
to cut her pancakes. He even had syrup to pour out evenly across
the cakes. “I had the boys find all of the good stuff. Zia made the
batter for the cakes, but everything else I did. The sausage is
hand-rolled by Zia but I fried it in the skillet. Here, eat some.”
He fed her from the fork.
    Mira chewed and smiled. “Good.”
    “ Eve will be in soon. She’s having
breakfast with the family downstairs.”
    “ We could have joined them,
Giovanni.” She ate some more from his fork.
    “ I’d rather we have our time. We
will take her with us on the honeymoon. I’ve asked Cecilia to be
her nanny.”
    “ Who?”
    “ She’s the youngest daughter of
Vinnie Razza, a man who works for me. She’s a year younger than
Catalina. Very bright girl. You’ll meet her today.”
    “ So will you tell me where our
honeymoon will be?”
    “ No.” he grinned.
    “ The wedding?”
    “ It’s close.”
    “ Here?”
    “ No. But close. Did Zia explain
what you are to expect? How we do things?”
    “ Yes. She explained it all. Now
give me a hint.”
    “ No.”
    “ Oh, Giovanni. C’mon, a girl needs
to know these things.”
    “ All you need to know is that I
love you. And the day will be the most memorable day of your
life.”
    “ I don’t think so. The most
memorable day of my life is the day you came for me and
Eve.”
    He stopped feeding her and smiled. She touched
his face. “I love you, Don Battaglia. I can’t wait to be your
wife.”
    He kissed her, and Mira stroked the side of
his face. Life couldn’t be any sweeter.
     
     
    Milan Italy –
    It was New Year’s Eve. It would prove to be
nothing more than another wasted day. With no woman, no real trust
between him and his cousin, and only one friend, he had no one to
confide the truth of the dark secret